April 2014 Mystery Tool A
April 2014 Mystery Tool B
April 2014 Mystery Tool C
Lightning rod cable clamp. Identified by Robert Scholz; Terry Stearns; Albert Stier; Willard Smith, Blountstown, Fla.; Herb Wilson, Geauga County, Ohio; and Dennis Lauritsen. “The two cables are aligned under the open fingers over the pins,” Terry says. “Then the fingers are hammered closed over the cables and fastened to the building.” Photo submitted by Thomas Levery.
April 2014 Mystery Tool D
Likely a very old shop- or homemade tobacco shredder, identified by Willard Smith and Steve Sylvester. “The shredder was clamped crossways on a bench (it laid down with the handle hanging off the bench),” Willard says. “Tobacco was fed into the end near the crank-handle; if you look at the inside you’ll see that the blades were spaced a bit further apart at one end (the end tobacco was fed into) and get closer together toward the other end, creating a progressively finer shred. It was then pushed out the other end through a small opening and caught in a wooden box or basket.” Photo submitted by Woody Parman.
April 2014 Mystery Tool E
Floor clamp used in flooring installation. Identified by Jim Plantikow, Omaha, and Robert Scholz. See patent 788,045 for similar device. Photo submitted by Mark Yoder, Goshen, Ind.